Road Trip
by Master Shorty 11
Summary: When Miko decides to for the Autobot's to go on trip to a old ghost town, things get out of hand. The Bot's think the town is haunted, Bulkhead and Miko go missing, strange things started happening join the road trip.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! So this is my first fanfic so take it easy on me okay anyway hope you enjoy this! Thank You for reading this! Bye!**

Road Trip

It was a regular day at base. No 'Cons to scrap and no missions to run. All in all, it has been pretty boring, and boring did not sit well with Miko.

"Hey, do you guys want to go on a little trip?" Miko asked innocently.

"What trip is it this time?" Arcee asked, already regretting her question.

"Oh, nothing. Just a little ghost town Bulk and I passed by," Miko said.

"Really? I don't remember seeing it before," Bulkhead stated.

That's because you were too frightened to take a look," Miko said bluntly.

"That's not true!" Bulkhead protested. But the tone in his voice suggested otherwise.

" **Wait. There is a ghost town around here**?" Bumblebee asked curiously.

"Yeah," Raf answered slowly. Just an old, abandoned coal mining town that is off limits." He said the last part with a glare directed at Miko. "Besides, I don't think Optimus would let us go."

Hearing his name, the great Prime's head tilted up. "Is anything wrong?" Optimus asked.

"No," Miko said quickly. "But is it okay if we could all go on a trip? I just think it would be great for you guys to learn more about our culture and species," Miko stated sweetly. She knew that would get him on board. If she knew Optimus, it was that he was always trying to encourage his team to learn more about humanity. What better way then examining an old town?

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. It would be good for us to learn about the ways of the humans." Miko grinned, aware that she already had his permission "I am okay with it," Optimus answered finally.

"Yay!" Miko shouted with glee. "Alright then, let's get going!"

"I did not say now," Optimus said, halting Miko in her tracks.

"Yeah, and why would you want to go to a ghost town that isn't haunted?" Arcee asked.

Miko smirked. "Well it's not exactly haunted," Miko said. "Not all ghost towns are haunted."

" **But then why is it called a ghost town if there aren't any ghosts in the town?"** Bumblebee asked.

Miko stared at Bumblebee, her face blank, before Raf explained what the yellow autobot said. "Well, it's because no one lives there anymore," Miko answered slowly. "Sometimes there are ghosts, and sometimes there aren't. It just depends on what happened at the town."

Everyone in the room stared at Miko in confusion.

"Just let them go," Ratchet muttered to Optimus. Miko's prattling was really starting to grate his nerves. "I need the peace and silence to work. "Not stories about ghosts floating around."

"I'm in," Bulkhead said. He did not want Miko to think of him any less then the brave Wrecker he really was.

Jack sighed, but had to admit that exploring a ghost town did sound like fun. "Me too," he said.

Arcee looked at Jack with a slight frown. "If Jack is going, so am I," she stated.

Miko slided over to Bumblebee. "Hey, I heard Raf is going. Do you want to come Bee?" Miko asked.

" **Oh no, I'm going,"** Bumblebee answered quickly.

"So I take that as a yes?" Miko asked hopefully. When Bee nodded, Miko smirked. She then slided over to Raf who was on his computer. "I heard Bee is going. Do you want to go?" Miko asked.

"Really? I thought Bee wasn't going," Raf stated in confusion.

"Will you just answer the question!" Miko hissed, annoyed. She wanted to leave before Optimus had a chance to change his mind.

Raf stared at Miko warily, then sighed. "Okay then. I'll go."

Miko then walked over to Optimus who was talking to Rachet, She put on her best innocent face before tapping his large pede. "Everyone's ready. Can we please go?"

Optimus smiled. He was well aware what Miko was doing. "You have my permission." Beside him, Ratchet sighed in relief at the thought of actually getting some work done.

"I take that as a yes… right?" Miko asked hopefully.

Optimus nodded.

"Sweet!" Miko exclaimed, running over to Bulkhead who had transformed into his car form. She intended for this to be a trip they would never forget.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again, I am on a role, well here it is hope you like it enjoy!**

* * *

Miko looked out the window "Miko are you okay?" Bulkhead asked.

" Oh… yeah of course I am," Miko answered. She had been deep in thought: she hoped to find some ghosts, but she hadn't really considered what she would do if the town was actually haunted. Not to worry, she reassured herself; Bulkhead was there to protect her!

"Lead the way," Arcee said.

"We're already here," Miko said.

"We are?" Bumblebee asked.

They all came to a halt. "Yep, we're here," Raf answered.

"Cool! A saloon! I always wanted to go in one of these," Miko said. Jack and Raf had to admit, they both did too. Miko headed straight for the saloon.

Bulkhead surveyed the ghost town, checking for heat signatures. He was relieved that there were only small heat signatures, probably vermin. He wondered if ghosts had heat signatures. Bulkhead shook his head, trying to clear that thought from his mind. He had almost convinced himself that ghosts weren't real when the strong wind pushed up against him. He almost onlined his weapons when he noticed that there were a bunch of tumbleweeds going everywhere.

One tumbleweed brushed up against Bumblebees leg. Bee started shooting at it. Bulkhead laughed; obviously, he wasn't the only one who didn't want to be here.

"What are you doing!" Arcee scolded.

Bee did not answer. He was still shooting at the tumbleweed.

"What are you doing! Stop that!" Arcee yelled.

"I thought it was a decepticon," Bumblebee said.

"A decepticon is not going to touch you… it would shoot at you,"

"Well you could never be sure they could have changed their tactics you know they are sneaky," Bumblebee said.

"Oh brother," Arcee muttered.

Miko walked into the saloon with Bulkhead following behind her, but when Bulkhead tried to get in, he knocked one of the doors down.

"Way to go Bulk. You just destroyed their antique history," Arcee said.

"Well it was it was falling apart anyway," Bulkhead answered.

Bulkhead tried to put it back but failed to do so. As he backed up, he brushed up against the other one, it just fell off.

"Aw, " Miko exclaimed. "I wanted to keep going back and forth thru those swinging doors. They were pretty cool."

"It was falling apart anyway. Besides, you could have gotten a splinter or something," Bulkhead stated.

"Whatever," Miko said as she raced over to the bar. She and Raf started pretending to be bartenders.

Jack walked into a back room. It also had a few old tables and chairs scattered throughout. He found a set of stairs and looked up the dark stairwell. Jack wanted to explore, but he didn't want to be alone. "Hey Arcee. Do you want to go upstairs?"

"No, but I will keep an eye on you," Arcee answered.

Jack peered into the dark room with the flashlight he turned on. Glancing at the dim light, Arcee joked, "Well that is useless." She was laughing while shining her light.

Arcee's light cast strange shadows on the walls. "Well, unlike yours, mine doesn't cast strange shadows."

"Scared Jack," Arcee questioned.

No… just cautious," Jack said.

Just then, one of the shutters slammed shut, blown about by the strong wind. Arcee stiffened and shone her light were the sound came from.

Arcee made a sigh of relief ... "just the shutter," she muttered.

"Scared Arcee," Jack joked.

"No, just cautious...you never know there could be decepticons around," Arcee said.

Jack peered around and he came into a cool looking bedroom: the floor was rotted and the closet was falling off its hinges.

"Hey, be careful okay," Arcee said worried.

"Trust me. I weigh a lot less than you."

"Yeah, but you have no protective armor to keep you safe," Arcee said.

"Don't worry I will be fine… trust me," Jack said trying not to get her worried.

Arcee raised an eyebrow. "Okay then," Arcee said with an optic fastened on Jack.

Jack just ignored her and continued exploring the fascinating room. He went over to bed and peeked under it. "You gotta admit. Ghost hunting is kinda of fun," Jack said.

"We are not ghost hunting," Arcee said. "Did think you would find a ghost sleeping under the bed?"

"Not sleeping," Jack mused. "Maybe hiding," he said hopefully.

"If a ghost is invisible, why would it need to hide?" Arcee said sarcastically.

Ignoring her comment, Jack said "Well it's like history."

"Since when have become fascinated with history?" Arcee asked.

"I've always liked history," Jack said.

"No you haven't," Arcee said.

"Well, now I do," Jack said. "Come on Arcee. This is living history!" Jack said.

There was a large bang.

"History class is over...NOW!" Arcee yelled.

"But Arcee, come on," Jack said.

"Now is understood!" Arcee's voice raised.

Bulkhead groaned. All the dust was getting in his sensors. "Humans are filthy," Bulkhead said to himself.

"These historical humans were filthy: no wait - the ghosts are filthy. Who am I kidding. Ghost don't even exist. There was no such thing as a disembodied human. Everyone goes back to the allspark," Bulkhead corrected himself.

Bulkhead heard a loud noise as a shuttered slammed into the wall.

"Hmm. I wonder if the ghost heard that," Bulkhead said to himself again.

And then another loud sound happened.

"And that," Bulkhead squeaked.

Bulkhead continued walking around. He kept on hearing creaking noises whenever he walked.

And another loud screeching noise came.

"Did you hear that! Did you hear that! " Bumblebee squeaked.

A mouse skittered across the floor. Bee started shooting at it.

Bulkhead knew that it was a bad idea for Bee to look up some ghost stories. The scout had a wild imagination when it came to certain things.

"Bee, relax. It's probably just a tumbleweed," Bulkhead said. He hoped it was a tumbleweed.

"Okay," Bumblebee answered slowly.

Bulkhead heard a bunch of noises.

"Well, Bee. I am gonna go scout the place out… watch the kids," Bulkhead said.

"Yeah, sure. I will watch the kids," Bumblebee said.

Bulkhead walked to the back of the building where there was a smaller door. "I should be able to get in right?" Bulkhead said to himself. He stopped still when he heard what sounded like a scratching noise. His weapons came online: Bulkhead powered his weapon up.

"I am just going to see what is making that noise and then I am going back to the kids," Bulkhead thought as he stepped into the doorway.

Bored with being a bartender, Raf raced over to the broken piano and tried playing it. When he banged on the keys, a horrible screeching sound came out which so startled Bulkhead that he got wedged into the doorframe.

Bulkhead went to steady himself and his hand went right onto what appeared to be a trigger for a trapdoor. He accidently started shooting as he fell. He was so startled at the vermin that scrambled across his face that he screamed, thinking that it was a scraplet. Bulkhead was still shooting at the imaginary scraplet as he fell straight through the trapdoor and into a hidden mine shaft.

"Bulkhead, Bulkhead, what's going on? Bumblebee asked into the comlink.

Arcee and Jack ran down the stairs Arcee broke off a bit of the stairs.

Arcee and Jack came down to see a big gash in the floor and a bunch of dirt

and Bumblebee, Raf and Miko looking through the dirt

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"The ghost ate Bulkhead!" Miko screeched


	3. Chapter 3

Hope you guys like it.

* * *

Chapter three

"What how is that possible… It couldn't just eat Bulkhead!" Arcee exclaimed.

Then all heard what sounded like footsteps coming from upstairs. A quick glance at the group showed that everyone was together, minus Bulkhead.

 **"What was that!?"** Bumblebee squeaked.

"Bee up or down?" Arcee asked.

 **"What?"** Bumblebee questioned.

"Do you want to go check upstairs? Or do you want to head down where Bulk went?" she clarified.

 **"Oh no! There's no way I'm going up there,"** Bumblebee huffed.

"Fine, you can go down where the metal eating ghost is," she said. "I'll scout upstairs."

 **"Uh... I'll go upstairs. I was just making sure that you weren't afriad,"** Bumblebee said slowly, his optics wide.

"Yeah, sure you were," Arcee muttered while rolling her optics.

….

Bulkhead crawled through the dark, tight tunnel. "These tunnels must have been made for humans," Bulkhead said while trying to get through the tunnels. He stopped. "What am I saying? Of course they were made for humans!"

It then occurred to him he had no idea how to get out of the tunnel or where he was even going. A quick check showed that he couldn't reach the others through the comm link. As if his predicament couldn't get any worse, a bunch of rocks fell on him.

"Get me out of this freaking place!" Bulkhead shouted.

….

Only part of Bulkhead's words could be heard through the tunnel. Everyone was silent when they heard the faint sound of Bulkhead's voice.

 **"Eeking? Is that what he said? Eeking?"** Bumblebee asked, startled. He could have sworn he heard Bulkhead shout, but what the Wrecker said was a mystery.

"He's leaking!" Miko shrieked.

"He is not leaking unless he's leaking energon," Arcee exclaimed. "We don't have any fluids in our cybertronian bodies besides energon!"

"Seaking? Is he seeking?" Jack asked.

"That makes even less sense than leaking and eeking combined!" Arcee snapped.

…..

A bunch of dust fell on Bulkhead and got in his optics.

"Get this dust out of my face!" Bulkhead yelled.

…...

"Ace?" Raf offered.

"Okay that sounds worse than the last one," Arcee said.

Bumblebee had a bunch of words running through his mind: ace, base, case, dace, face. 'Face' sounded pretty good, but he didn't one to say anything based on what Arcee's response would be.

…

More rock's tumbled on Bulkhead, denting his helm as he tried to move forward.

"I hate this place!" he yelled.

….

Everyone was tense. The two remaining autobots stood protectively in front of the children. Though Arcee wouldn't admit it, this ghost town was giving her the creeps. She was contemplating on what to do when they all heard Bulkhead's scream. 'Ate,' That's what she heard, and it was obvious she wasn't the only one.

"Ate. Eating. He is being eaten!" Miko cried out.

"Do ghosts even eat people?" Jack asked, startled as he moved closer to his guardian.

"What about scraplets?" Raf squeaked.

"Something is eating Bulkhead's face!" Miko sobbed.

 **"He's dieing. Bulkhead is being eaten alive!"** Bumblebee shrieked.

Raf looked at Bee, startled.

"What did Bumblebee say?" Miko demanded.

"Everybody calm down, " Arcee said, looking directly at Bumblebee. "We're getting Ratchet."

 **"We need Optimus. We need an army,"**

"Stop it, Bee. I'm calling Ratchet," Arcee repeated.

….

Ratchet was actually enjoying the peace and quiet back at base. Optimus had gone on a patrol; the kids were out. He didn't have to deal with Miko's endless prattling, and he didn't have to worry about fixing anything that Bulkhead broke.

Just when he was allowing himself to relax, Arcee commed him.

"Arcee, what is going on?" Ratchet asked, concerned. He knew the femme wouldn't contact him without a reason. He could faintly hear Bumblebee in the background saying something about scraplets, and Miko sobbing. He then heard Arcee yelling that everything was fine; then Ratchet heard someone get smacked.

"What's that high pitch noise I am hearing?" Ratchet demanded. So much for peace and quiet.

….

"Oh, that's Miko crying-" Arcee was cut off by Bee who turned his comlink on.

 **"We found a scraplet nest!"** Bumblebee said.

 _"Did you say scraplet? There's a nest?"_ Ratchet demanded through the link.

"All we know is that Bulkhead is missing," Arcee explained.

 _"Bulkhead? How could you lose something that big?"_ Ratchet asked.

 **"The ghost brought Bulkhead to the scraplets. I think they're working together!"** Bumblebee yelled.

"Will you shut up!" Arcee

 _"Should I call optimus and let him know about the scraplets teaming up with the ghosts?"_ Ratchet asked. He was starting to doubt everyone's sanity.

"No! No, need to alert him," Arcee said quickly, shooting Bumblee a glare.

…..

"Alright. I'm heading over," Ratchet said as he opened a ground bridge. Young bots these days! So needy.

…

Relieved that Ratchet was on his way, Arcee surveyed the gaping hole that had swallowed Bulkhead. She was the smallest autobot, so she should fit, and she had to get down there to rescue Bulkhead.

"If I'm going down there, I'll need a rope. I can't fly," Arcee said.

A quick look around the room showed that every rope there was was either rotted, short, or wouldn't hold the weight of a metal alien: the ropes were useless.

There was an old little closet Bee spotted. He motioned to Raf to come with him and check it out: it was a very little closet. Pulling on the door, Bee was puzzled to find it stuck. Groaning in annoyance, he gave a firm yank, only to have the door disintegrate and spray dust and splinters all over Raf. Raf started coughing. "Well that's not good," Bumblebee said. If everything here was falling apart, how were they going to find something strong and sturdy for Arcee?

"Cool! A hemp rope," Raf exclaimed, standing next to him. The small boy pushed his glasses up as he studied the contents in the closet. "I had read about these in history class."

Bumblebee blinked. **"A what?"**

"A hemp rope is supposed to be very strong and sturdy," Raf exclaimed, gathering up the coils of rope.

 **"But how come we never heard about it before?"** Bumblebee asked as he helped his human companion.

"Eh...it's illegal now in the US," Raf answered.

Bumblebee frowned. **"Why?"**

"Eh, American economics," Raf answered.

The yellow autobot shrugged. He didn't care about human culture right now. Arcee needed to find Bulkhead. He eyed the heavy rope: if it was strong, then Arcee could use it.

"Here you go," Raf said as he gave it to Arcee.

"So, this is where Bulk disappeared?" Arcee asked, glancing down the large hole. The back room Bulkhead was last seen in was a tight fit for the two autobots, and they had to be careful where they stepped.

Arcee grabbed hold of the rope. "Don't drop me, Bee. And be ready to quickly pull me up." Bee just looked at her **"Don't worry. I won't drop you,"** Bumblebee told her as he began to lower Arcee into the darkness. Arcee turned her light on, illuminating the shaft.

With Arcee carefully lowering down into the hole, Bee was given more space.

Bee's senses were on high alert as he slowly lowered Arcee down. But a noise behind him caused his hands to loosen slightly as he looked around. The kids were all with him. So where did that noise come from? Possible scenarios of ghosts and demon possessed monsters ran through his mind. Why did he think it was a good idea to look up human ghosts stories?

…..

Ratchet knew he would have to leave the ground bridge open if he wanted to get back to base. He didn't like it, but since no one else in the team was around to close it, the bridge would need to remain open. Besides, how else would they get back with no one at base to re-open it?

Ratchet didn't think he would have to worry about civilians seeing the strange, green glow in a ghost town: even if humans saw the glow, they would probably attribute it to paranormal activity.

…

The strange noise happened again, this time closer. Bee's hands, in his fright, slackened enough for the rope to slip through his grasp.

 **"Arcee!"** Bumblebee screamed, lunging for the rope, only to miss and watch it fall into the darkness...along with the blue femme.

….

"I am going to kill him if that ghost and scraplet team doesn't kill him first!" Arcee growled to herself as she picked herself up. Luckily it wasn't a very large fall. But it still hurt


	4. Chapter 4

**Here it is guys I am so sorry it is late shcool has been busy, well here it is hope you like it**

* * *

Bumblebee stared at the hole Arcee had fallen into. He was stunned, not knowing what to do. He tried to contact Arcee through the comlink but only received static.

A loud noise, that of a bang, startled them all. Bumblebee whirled around, his weapons online. Every sensor in Bee was screaming that something was wrong. He didn't know what it was that had him on edge. Maybe it was the strange, unexplained noises coming from nowhere. Or maybe it was the shadows that seemed to change shapes.

Bee was torn, not knowing what to do. On the one hand, he knew he had to get the kids away from possible danger. On the other hand, he couldn't leave Arcee and Bulkhead.

"Bee?" Raf squeaked out fearfully, looking up at his guardian with wide eyes. It was then that Bumblebee made his decision.

Gesturing for the children to follow him, Bee headed out of the room. If he could get Ratchet, and leave the kids somewhere safe, then he could focus on rescuing Arcee and Bulk.

"Wait. Why are the doors all opened?" Jack asked, looking around the rooms. Bee looked up, startled. He could have sworn that all the doors had been shut. Maybe that was what the loud banging was.

He shook his head, being careful not to touch anything, not wanting to disturb the ghosts. Find Ratchet: the doc would know what to do.

…..

Ratchet had to admit, the ghost town was pretty spooky. But he didn't have time to worry about ghosts. After all, there was no such thing as ghosts. But Bumblebee did say that a ghost brought Bulkhead to the scraplets. He would probably have to examine the scout's head when they got back.

Ratchet started to walk forward, his senses on high alert. Some of the buildings were ruined beyond repair, and some were too small for an autobot to fit through. But the saloon he was approaching was tall and wide. The opening was big enough for him to fit through if he ducked his head. The ceilings were high, which impressed Ratchet. He wondered what it would have looked like back in its prime. Stepping forward, the floorboards creaked under his weight. But he wasn't worried: if it could support Bulkhead, it could support the medic.

"Ugh. Where is Bumblebee?" Ratchet grumbled to himself. "So much for relaxing and getting work done," he huffed.

…..

Hearing a noise, Bumblebee rushed forward, his guns ready to fire at anything that moved. But a small part in him noted that you couldn't kill a ghost.

"Bumblebee!? What on earth are you doing! It's just me," Ratchet exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender.

Bumblebee relaxed, lowering his hands. **"Oh I thought you were something parnormal,"** Bumblebee said.

Ratchet raised an eyebrow. Yep, he would definitely be examining the yellow scout's head when they got back. "Where's Arcee?" Ratchet asked.

 **"She went into the hole-hey weres Miko?"** Bumblebee exclaimed, startled.

…

Arcee was crawling through the tunnel, her lights on, illuminating the dark shadows around her. Hearing a familiar groan, to her surprise, she found Bulkhead stuck in a small opening.

"Bulkhead? You sure got yourself into a situation," Arcee said. "How in the world did you get stuck in there?" she asked.

"Well, I tried to find another way out," Bulkhead answered.

"But there is only one way in, so there's only one way out," Arcee corrected.

"How was I supposed to know that?" Bulkhead hissed.

"Well, you could've stayed for us to come and get you,"Arcee said.

"I didn't know that you were gonna rescue me,"Bulkhead said.

"Whatever," Arcee muttered.

…..

Miko looked down at the hole that Arcee and Bulkhead had disappeared into. She glanced at the rope. She supposed if it could hold Arcee's weight, than it could hold hers. She paused as she grabbed onto the rope: Bumblebee had been holding the rope for Arcee.

She then looked over at the knot Bee tied. The knot looked secure enough. All in all, it seemed as if the rope and knot could hold her weight. "I think I should have laid off of the ice cream," Miko said to herself.

Miko went down the rope: it was kind of dark, but she wasn't scared, although she was on high alert. It was creepy. She tried to hold her breath as she went down to the rescue.

Miko scrambled through the tunnels, looking for Arcee and Bulkhead. After all, they might need her help, and it would be up to her to save them.

But the problem was that Miko had a flashlight on her phone which wasn't that bright, so she couldn't see clearly. It was at times like these that she would turn to Jack, who usually had a solution to everything. But the teen hadn't seen her go into the tunnel.

Her flashlight dimmed. "Bulkhead? Bulkhead? Arcee? Arcee?" Miko called out, her voice echoing.

…

Arcee was supporting the beams so that it would not cause a cave in on Bulkhead. She paused, sure she had heard something unusual.

"EEEeeee."

Arcee stiffened. That definitely wasn't from Bulkhead and her. And it didn't sound human. Something else was down there with them. Then the sound repeated itself, and this time, Arcee could have sworn it was closer.

"EEEeee."

…

Bumblebee was walking alongside Ratchet when they heard the faint noise.

"EEEeee."

"Bumblebee," Ratchet said, his voice a hoarse whisper. "Stay here with the children. I'm going to go check and see where that sound came from." And with that, the medic walked into the other room, leaving Bumblebee, Raf, and Jack standing in the middle of the saloon.

Bumblebee was on extremely high alert. Suddenly, he didn't feel right. Something was wrong. They weren't supposed to be here, and they had just angered something.

Then he felt it. He was sure the humans felt it too. A cold chill, laced with uncomfortable warmth fell on them, along with an unfriendly, sinister voice.

"Get out!" it whispered.

It might as well have screamed, based on everyone's reactions. Bumblebee immediately transformed into his car form, his doors swinging open.

 **"Get in NOW!"** Bumblebee yelled franticly. Jack didn't need Raf to translate for him; he had a vague idea what the screach beeping was. Both boys were already scrambling into the car.

"What about Arcee? We can't just leave her, Miko, and Bulkhead," Jack asked.

 **"They will be fine, who said I was leaving you guys, I just whant to get you guys somewhere safe,"** Bumblebee answered as he all but tore out of the saloon. Outside seemed even worse. The wind was blowing. It was bit too chilly for fall. And worse, tumbleweeds were brushing up against his car form, leaving scratches in his paint.

Once they were a good distance from the saloon, Bumblebee dropped the kids off at an old house. Giving the kids a quick scanning to make sure they were alright, he was relieved to find them well, if a bit shaken up.

Nodding in satisfaction, Bee gestured for them to stay there before rising up, his gaze locked on the creepy saloon.

"Wait! You're leaving us her

 **"Someones got to find Arcee and Bulkhead,"** Bumblebee protested." **Besides you should be safe here,"** Bumblebee said.

Raf and Jack watched as Bumblebee quickly transformed and drove back to the saloon.

They looked around at the old porch, with the old, rickety rocking chair that seemed to be rocking by itself.

They both looked up at the old house. It was cold outside, but they were too scared to go inside.

"Okay Raf, is it just me, or are you sensing that something is seriously wrong

with this place?" Jack asked, backing off the porch, keeping a wary eye on the suddenly still chair.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Raf answered, following the older teen. After all, they would be safer with the giant, metal alien robots.

They both saw Bee enter the saloon, and they ran towards him: they knew that they would be safe with the guardian.

As they ran toward the saloon, a chilly feeling crawled up their spine, causing them to run faster. They were both panting when they reached Bumblebee. He was standing just inside the saloon looking up at the staircase. "Well, at least we're away from rocking chairs," Jack puffed.

"Yeah," Raf gasped.

 **"I thought I told you kids to stay put,"** Bumblebee exclaimed, a little annoyed. He hadn't quite worked up the courage to enter the old building. The voice had unnerved him, and he heard noises upstairs. So, it was a small relief that he had something to distract him.

"Well, a whole rocking chair was rocking itself, so we came back here," Raf answered innocently.

Bee snorted.

"Why were you waiting just inside the building?" Jack asked.

Bee stared at them but then realized that this place is kind of creepy, no matter where they went. **"Okay** **and for your information I was scouting,"** Bumblebee answered slowly. He then looked back inside the saloon before onlineing his weapons. Best to find the others and get this whole trip over with.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! I am so sorry *cries* please forgive me for the late update! My brother and sisters birthdays were exhausting:( And school was big and were having guest for Thanksgiving. Oh and happy late Halloween!**

* * *

Bumblebee walked into the saloon with the kids, summing this up to be the worst day of his existence. He just wanted to find Bulkhead, Arcee, and Miko and get this over with. It was pretty cold now. No, scratch that, it was freezing!

"It's freezing," Jack complained. Even though they were in the saloon, it was still cold. "I knew I should have brought a coat."

Bumblebee had to nod in agreement. It was pretty cold and windy: the chilly wind is what made it creepy.

"Bee… do you have any idea where Ratchet is?" Raf asked while his teeth were chattering. Bumblebee said.

 **"Well...no. And I don't know where Miko I either,"** Bumblebee answered.

Jack decided to chime in on the conversation. "Well Ratchet did say he would check out what that sound was," he answered.

"Right, but he never came back," Raf stated while crossing his arms, trying to stay warm.

"Maybe he's still looking," Jack suggested.

"Guys, come on. We need to find Arcee and Bulkhead first," Bumblebee said while onlineing his weapons.

"Right," Raf and Jack said at the same time while following Bumblebee.

Bee looked down at the rope that Arcee and Bulkhead had went/fallen into. It was dark and creepy, and Bee could've sworn that he had heard voices down there, but then the voices had faded away. Bee considered risking the ghosts and scraplets and going down the mine entrance himself, but that would mean leaving the boys unprotected. **"Where was Miko? What a mess!"**

…..

"Almost there Bulkhead," Arcee encouraged while holding the beams up. "Scrap! These are heavy," she grumbled. Arcee was trying to prevent a cave-in on her and Bulkhead. Bulkhead was stuck: debris had fallen on him, and the wooden beams had to be positioned to support the mine shaft again. This was taking longer than she was comfortable with: the tunnel had to be supported by more than just Bulkhead's body!

Bulkhead tried moving out but more rocks tumbled on him, and the ground started to shake. "Ugh. Arcee, why don't you go get out of here. Alright? I don't want you to get stuck down here with me," Bulkhead ordered.

"Sorry Bulk, but I'm not leaving you any time soon. Come to think of it, I'm not leaving you at all," Arcee answered to Bulkhead while holding the beams up. The beams were heavy and difficult to support. But none of this was new to her. The war had changed her. She was not leaving Bulkhead behind. That very thought caused her to stand up straighter, lifting the beams even higher. With her other hand, she reached for another timber to support the ceiling.

 _"Not too bad,"_ Arcee thought to herself. _"I'm making progress!"_

…..

"Uhg! This is getting ridiculous," Miko groaned while running into the tunnels. Her flashlight had grown dim, increasing the darkness. There were weird shadows on the walls, probably because of her dumb flashlight. She didn't like talking to herself out loud, but it made her feel less alone.

"Well, no one is here… but Bulkhead and Arcee should be here," Miko stated. "Scrap," she yelled, realizing she probably went went the wrong way in the tunnel. She was so busy fussing to herself that she didn't notice the rock that she walked right into.

"Oof, OUCH!" Miko cried when she fell, losing her balance. Miko flinched, biting back a cry. It hurt, but that was nothing new. Just a few scrapes on her elbow and knee.

"Man, that hurts," Miko moaned, rubbing her knee. "I really wish I brought some bandages and pain reliever," she grumbled to herself, staring down at her scrape.

…

Bumblebee could've sworn that he heard a yell or cry or the word 'scrap' - short for scraplet? But he ignored the fear, keeping an eye on the two remaining kids.

"Bee… what was that sound?" Raf squeaked.

Then Bumblebee realized that he was not the only one who heard the voice... or whatever it was.

"Yeah, what was that?" Jack asked looking around. "Did someone say 'scraplet?" It was really spooky, and he just wanted to get out of this place. But Jack knew that he could not leave Bulkhead, Arcee, and Miko.

Bumblebee looked around to see if Ratchet had returned from exploring the other parts of the saloon. Sadly, he had not come back, much to Bumblebee's disappointment.

…..

Ratchet was wondering how he was going to get Bumblebee to sit still while he examined the scout's head when they got back.

"I don't see or hear anything," Ratchet huffed. "Everyone has gone crazy! I may have to examine all their heads when I get back."

"All I wanted to do today was to relax," he continued. "But no! I had to come do this stupid job. Bulkhead is probably scraplet chow. Arcee fell down a hole, and now Miko is missing! I couldn't even understand what Bumblebee was saying."

Ratchet felt like yelling at himself, but he couldn't because if there were scraplets down here with him, he did not want to alert them.

"This should be over soon. I hope Bumblebee finds the others. I can't wait to get this trip over with," Ratchet said to himself.

…

Bumblebee wished Ratchet would have stayed, and Arcee wouldn't have gone in the hole, and Bulkhead hadn't gotten himself kidnapped! He wished he wasn't alone! This whole trip was just going wrong.

"Have you found them yet? It's getting colder," Raf asked, letting out a sneeze. The sooner they found the others, the sooner they could get back to the warm base.

They were all tired, cold, and hungry. It felt like they had been here for days, but really they were only there for a few hours.

Bumblebee felt like yelling and banging his head against a wall in frustration. How was he going to explain any of this to Optimus? Hi Prime! Yeah, so we lost Bulkhead, Ratchet, and Miko. Along with Arcee, your dear sister-in-law. Don't panic.

"Bee, can you still contact Ratchet?" Raf asked with wide eyes and a red nosed.

Bumblebee wanted to smack himself, which he did. **"Raf, you're a genius! Why didn't I think of that before?"**

After Raf translated to Jack what the yellow scout had said, Jack's entire face lit up. "If you could contact Ratchet to see if he found Miko, then we could rescue Arcee and Bulkhead and then we could get out of here!" Jack said with hope in his eyes. They listened intently to Bee's part of the conversation.

 **"Ratchet is that you? Oh thank goodness! Have you found Miko? Cause if so, can you come back with her…either way, you can come back."**

Bumblebee winced at the language the medic was using. _ **"Oh, you haven't. Wait. You don't know where she is?"** _ they heard the scout ask incredulously. Bee paused, _ **" Why do think she's in the tunnel with them?"**_ Bumblebee's eyes flickered towards the two boys. _**"Oh yeah, the kids are with me. Well, don't get eaten by the ghost. Take care, Ratchet."**_ Bumblebee commed out, a look of disappointment on his face plates.

"Miko's not with him, are they?" Jack asked Bumblebee.

The scout shook his head in disappointment.

"Well, we have to find them. We just have to," Raf said.

…..

"Bulkhead calm down! Relax, ju-," Arcee was cut off by a frantic Bulkhead.

"Wait, did you hear that?" Bulkhead asked. Arcee craned her neck to look behind her at the footsteps she could hear upstairs. The ground started to shake and rumble. Dust started to fall. They then heard what sounded like echoing and a whole lot of footsteps that freaked both of them out.

Arcee realized no one was coming down to rescue them. They were on their own.

"We're getting out of here,"Arcee ordered, fear tinged in her voice.

"Uhhh, Arcee. There may be one teeny weeny problem," Bulkhead warned.

Arcee tripped and fell with a large thud. "What would that be?" Arcee asked with a groan.

"Me," Bulkhead answered.

"What? I'm sorry. I'm confused," Arcee questioned.

"I can't really get out, and you can go if you want, but but I'll be stuck here.

"Bulkhead, don't talk like that. I will not leave you; we'll get out of here. Relax."

…..

They all heard a noise that sounded like a large thud. It was loud enough for them to all hear. Bee scrambled around to protect himself and the kids; his guns were out and ready to fire.

"That won't stop the ghosts, Bee," Jack hissed.

 **"You have a better idea?"** Bee snapped, aware the teen could not understand him.

"Salt!" Raf exclaimed. "Its supposed to ward off evil spirits and ghosts! Quick! Find some salt."

Bumblebee and the two boys scrambled for the shelves, and began opening containers, looking for anything that resembled salt. If it warded off ghosts, than it could work for him and the kids.

"Found it!" Jack exclaimed happily, gesturing to a large barrel.

Bumblebee grabbed the barrel, confirming that it was indeed salt. He then sprinkled Raf and Jack before forming a large circle of salt around them. He then proceeded to sprinkle himself with the special protection.

"Bumblebee what are you doing?!" Ratchet protested as he entered the room, his optics wide.

 **"Ratchet! Thank the allspark you're okay! Oh, and this is too keep the ghost away"** Bumblebee answered.

"You're going to rust!" Ratchet yelled.

 **"Well, as long as it keeps the ghost away from me, then I'm fine,"** Bumblebee said defensively.

Ratchet stood there with his jaw open in shock, not knowing what to do.

…

Miko was still running though the tunnels, until she stumbled and fell again. She looked up, feeling her frustration grow. Then she spotted a familiar figure holding the beams up.

"Arcee!" Miko yelled, scrambling to her feet.

Arcee turned around as Miko caught up to her. "Miko? What are you doing down here?"

"I came to rescue you...Bulkhead!" Miko shouted the last part with glee.

"There is only one way out and one way in, and Bulkhead is stuck," Arcee said with her head down in disappointment.

…

Ratchet kicked Bumblebee, Raf and Jack out of the saloon, saying he had work to do in there. But luckily Bumblebee brought salt with him (more like the whole container of it).

"Bee, I'm freezing. Can we go back inside?" Raf pleaded.

 **"Ratchet kicked us out, and it is safer for you out here,"** Bee replied.

"It's not safer for me if I freeze to death," Raf fussed. "Bee, I need to get inside!"

"Why don't we just quietly sneak in," Jack offered. "Maybe Ratchet won't notice. It is a bit warmer in the saloon. We could hide behind the bar."

Bee took one look at the shivering boys and headed inside. **"Be quiet."**

Once they got behind the bar, Bumblebee sprinkled a salt circle around them. He beeped when he noticed that some metal plates did not have salt.

"Wait Bee. I don't want you to rust, so I brought some of this white powder. If we mix the salt with it, Jack and I should be able to cover you enough, without having to worry about you rusting, " Raf said.

 **"Great idea. Rust is itchy,"** Bumblebee said **"and annoying."**

"I got it, " Jack said as he opened up the bag. It seemed chalky, which would explain why it had lasted so many years. It obviously wasn't flour because rodents would have eaten that a long time ago. Jack wasn't sure what the powder was, but if it prevented rust, he was willing to douse the autobot with it.

A white cloud puffed around Bumblebee and the boys as they began applying the powder. All three were soon covered in the substance. "What is this stuff?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. At first I thought it was flour, but it definitely is not flour," Raf answered. .

…..

Ratchet looked at the hole in the ground: the source of all this drama. He shone a bright light into the darkness, hoping not to alert any scraplets. He wasn't afraid of ghosts: he didn't believe in them. He was, however, afraid of scraplets. His friends had gone missing, and he had to find them. He called out into the tunnel, "Hello. Hello."

…

Bulkhead had managed to wedge himself out of the tight spot. "Ugh. I was starting to get claustrophobic. Let's get out of here."

"I don't think you'll fit through, Bulkhead," said Arcee. "It would be too tight a squeeze for you. The tunnel could cave in again."

"Well,let's try a wider tunnel," suggested Miko. "As long as it leads upwards, we should eventually find a way out. I mean, there had to be more than one entrance."

"Why would you think that?" Arcee asked.

"Because it's a secret tunnel. Everyone knows that secret tunnels have more than one entrance," Miko replied.

"I didn't know that," said Bulkhead. "Is this some weird human thing?"

"Yeah. In fact..." Miko stopped talking.

They all heard it. There was a strange voice echoing in the tunnels.

"It said 'Oh. Oh'." Miko squeaked.

"Don't worry, Miko. Nothing will hurt you," Bulkhead said as he brought his weapons online.

"Don't shoot anything, Bulk," Arcee barked. "You'll bring down the tunnel! We'll head back into this tunnel to get away from whatever is making that moaning sound. Miko, you get between us. I'll go first to make sure the tunnel is wide enough. Let's hurry up so it doesn't find us. Hurry."

…..

Miko was getting tired and thirsty. Arcee was kicking up dust as she ran ahead Miko was covered in the dust: it was even in her mouth. Maybe going to visit a ghost town wasn't such a good idea.

"Arcee!" Bulkhead snapped.

"What!" she demanded.

"Stop stomping up all that dirt! It's in my chest plates. It's all over my servos," Bulkhead said. "Give me a break! This dust is slowing me down."

Arcee turned to look at him and Miko. They were covered in dust. She looked at herself: she was covered too. "Ha! We look like ghosts!" Arcee joked. "I'm not disturbing the dirt on purpose. It's just everywhere. I'll go slower. Maybe it won't be so bad."

"Well, at least we're headed up," Miko offered.

"That's right," Arcee smiled. "I didn't want to get your hopes up, but I think we found the way out."

"Thank Primus," Bulkhead said. "I was beginning to think we'd be stuck down here!"

…..

Ratchet frowned at the tunnel. His scanners hadn't picked up anything. That was so strange. Bumblebee had said that the two Autobots were down there. "Hello. Hellooooo," he yelled again.

Humph. Ratchet decided that he would try to find Miko instead. Maybe Bumblebee had found her after all. "Bumblebee, have you found Miko yet?" he asked into the commlink.

 _ **"Uh, no, "**_ Bee replied. _**"She is missing at the saloon, and you kicked us out."**_

"Well, get back in here now," Ratchet demanded. "We need to find the girl!"

…...

"Alright," Arcee said, a smile on her face. "Let's get out of here."

They climbed up the tight tunnel that was still going uphill. The tunnel abruptly ended. The only way out appeared to be a very small wooden door. "Cee, neither of us are going to fit through that!" Bulkhead exclaimed.

"Oh yes, we are," Arcee stated. "Protect Miko, carry her, and run behind me before the tunnel collapses," she barked as she brought her weapons online. She had enough of tunnels and was worried that Jack might have tried to follow them into the tunnel to 'rescue' them. This excursion was turning into a nightmare, and she wanted it over!

"Wait!" Bulkhead yelled as he grabbed Miko and started running. This was not a good idea! What if they didn't get out before the tunnel collapsed? Miko could get killed, and they could get hurt. Had Arcee lost her mind?

Arcee blasted the door and began running through the smoke and debris as the ground shook.

….

Bumblebee moved from behind the bar, Raf and Jack close behind. The chalk and salt had gotten onto his optics, so he slammed into the doorway.

The ground shook.

Ratchet whirled around. "Bumblebee, what did you do? By the allspark…, " he stuttered. "What happened to you?!"

…

Miko shrieked! A piece of skeletal bone was stuck in her hair. "Get it off! Get it off!" she screamed as she jumped around. "Ugh! Ah, scrap!" she screamed as she stepped on a bone and crunched it.

"Hold still, Miko!" Bulkhead said. The dust in his optics made it hard for him to clearly see, but he could make out the girl dancing around, arms flailing as she continued to step on bones and break them. He had to admit, the crunching noise the bones made was pretty creepy.

"Stop it," Arcee yelled as she grabbed Miko with one arm and used the other arm to take the largest bone out of Miko's hair. "See," she said, as she held up the bony finger to Miko.

"Scrap! Scrap! Scrap!" Miko exclaimed.

"Okay, we're done here," Arcee said to Bulkhead. "Give Miko a ride so she doesn't freak out about breaking the skeletons." Arcee wisely decided not to tell Miko that there were smaller bones stuck in her hair. She'd tell her when they were out of the crypt. Maybe she'd tell her when they were back at base.

Bulkhead picked up Miko and headed toward the rusted gate that was the door to freedom. Miko was a mess. She was covered in dust and had bones sticking out of her hair. Since Arcee didn't comment on it, he wasn't going to either.

Once they were out of the crypt, Miko was calmer. As she looked at the small cemetery, she cheerily said, "At least the bones are underground," She stepped around a broken tombstone, grateful that Arcee was lighting the way. "You guys look like you belong here."

"What?" Arcee asked.

"You're covered in dust. You look like a ghost. A tall, scary ghost," Miko replied. She looked at Bulkhead and smiled. "We should be on the outskirts of town. Hey, there it is." In the twilight, she peered at the decrepit ghost town.

…..

Bumblebee, Raf and Jack were just standing there, covered with chalk and salt. Jack could have sworn that the building shook, but he didn't pay much attention to it, until a startled scream filled the air. That's what got everyone's attention.

Ratchet and Bumblebee both onlined their weapons.

"Boys, stay here," Ratchet ordered. " Bumblebee, come with me. That sound came from outside."

"Did it come from the cemetery?" Raf asked.

"What cemetery?" Jack wanted to know.

"A cemetery?" Bee asked.

"What's the big deal about a cemetery?" Ratchet commented. "It is just a place to hold dead bodies."

 **"But this is a ghost town,"** Bumblebee protested.

"That's it Scout. I'm checking your head as soon as we get back at base. There is no such thing as ghosts," Ratchet replied.

"Yes there are," Jack screamed.

"They're coming from the cemetery,"Raf shrieked.

* * *

 **Well I think the next chapter or the chapter after it is going to be the last! There is going to be a special guest coming in the next chapter try to guess who it is in a review or not. Bye review if you want to bye!**


	6. Chapter 6

Road Trip

They all watched in shock, unable to believe what they were seeing.

 _"What?! That's impossible!"_ Ratchet commed _."Ghost don't exist. At least, I think they don't."_ He peeked out the window.

Bumblebee just stood there frozen, not knowing what to do. He knew ghost were real! Ratchet didn't believe him! By the allspark! They were going after Ratchet!

"It's a ghost!" Jack shouted in fear.

"No, it's not!" Raf responded shakily.

 _"Well then what is it?"_

"It's a zombie!" Raf squeaked.

Bumblebee gasped. **"That's worse!"**

"Ratchet is in there! He's going to get eaten!" Jack said, worried.

 **"Not on my watch,"** Bumblebee said with determination.

Bee started to charge but he stopped. **"Stay here,"** he ordered the boys. And then, he turned around and ran. Raf and Jack had no problem staying away from the zombie.

"Wait, what if more come?" Raf stuttered. They both looked at each other before running after the scout. "Bee, we're here to help you!" Jack shouted.

…..

Ratchet was in the saloon, and he didn't want to admit it, but something was wrong with this place. He heard footsteps behind him and hastily turned around, weapons ready.

What he saw startled him. It looked like a zombie, and that was enough to send him into an attack mode.

"Ratchet?" the zombie asked.

Ratchet stopped, the familiar voice and now familiar figure staring back at him. "Bulkhead?" he demanded. He quickly sheathed his weapons, not wanting to admit how close he had been to off-lining the ex wrecker.

…..

The two boys were behind the scout, in case if things got out of hand. Just to be safe.

Tumbleweeds rolled past, brushing up against Bumblebee. The feeling of the tumbleweeds startled the scout, causing him to shoot at the nearest one.

Those darn tumbleweeds! They were attacking him! This was not his day!

"Bee-" Raf said.

 **"I told you to stay put,"** Bumblebee scolded. At this point, he was too scared to be angry. But the boy's safety always came first. And he couldn't go in and save Ratchet without endangering the kids.

"Bee," Jack said fearfully. "Turn around!"

The scout did just that, his weapons out, and was shocked to see two zombies running towards him. Of course there were more! And why were they running? Zombies were supposed to be slow! And was the smaller one wearing the bones of its victims?

All those thoughts swarmed through Bumblebee's processor as he took a step back. Unfortunately, the tumbleweeds he backed into wrapped around his legs and caused him to fall on his back.

"Bee! Get up!" Raf shrieked, trying to tug at his guardian.

"The zombies are coming!" Jack shouted.

…

Arcee recognized Bumblebee the moment she saw his form, and it filled her with relief to see someone familiar. She charged forward with an excited Miko following behind. "Bumblebee!" the girl shouted.

Arcee's delight turned to horror when she saw Bumblebee fall with tiny, white creatures swarming on him!

"Arcee! Shoot them! Their eating Bumblebee!" Miko screeched. That snapped the femme into action.

Her weapons were shooting around Bee in the hopes of scaring off the vile creatures. But that only served to make things worse, as one of the stray shots nearly hit the scout. And a tumbleweed near Bee was caught on fire from one of the shots. "Shoo! Shoo!' Arcee screamed. "Leave him alone!

….

"Bee, zombies die from fire!" Raf shouted, the fire illuminating in the dark.

That was music to Bumblebee's audio receptors. Ignoring the sudden pain in his servos as he picked up the flaming tumbleweed, he launched it at the largest zombie.

"Bumblebee!" the zombie yelled.

Bumblebee stopped, startled. **"Arcee!"** He shouted happily. Then he blinked, realizing what he had nearly done to his friend. **"Oh Arcee,"** He said the last part really slowly.

Arcee huffed in annoyance before holding out a servo to help Bee up, which the scout took. "Uh, Arcee," he started, glancing at Miko and the many bones stuck in her hair. " **Uh, Arcee why does Miko-"**

"Don't tell Miko that she looks like something from a horror film," Arcee hissed quickly, cutting him off.

The two boys were staring at Miko before she caught them staring at her. "What?" she demanded, hands on her hips.

 **"Don't tell Miko she looks like something from a horror film!"** Bumblebee whispered to Raf, repeating what Arcee had said.

"Uh, Miko-" Jack started as the girl turned to face him, but he saw Arcee, Bee, and Raf making hand motions that meant 'don't say it or you'll regret it'.

"- great to see you again?" Jack finished off.

Miko blinked, before smiling. "Thanks!"

"She looks like a zombie," Raf whispered to Bee, who nodded his helm, before going rigged. **"Ratchet!"** Bumblebee yelled, suddenly running off toward the saloon. Everyone stared in bemused shock as Bumblebee ran through the walls, weapons blazing.

"Is he on hygrade?" Arcee thought aloud.

…..

 **"Dieeeeeeeeeeeee!"** Bumblebee screamed as he rammed right into the zombie. And just in the knick of time too. The zombie had been advancing on the poor, defenseless old medic!

 **"You will stay dead!"** Bumblebee said with a threatening tone as he pinned the zombie to the ground. He raised his gun, powering it on.

"Bumblebee! What are you doing?!" Ratchet scolded.

 **"I got your back Ratchet!"** Bumblebee said as his weapon got ready to shoot. Ratchet's optics widened. "No!" he shouted, tackling Bumblebee off the zombie. The movement caught Bee off guard, causing him to shoot the ceiling to avoid hitting the medic.

 **"Ratchet! Why did you do that?! You doomed us all!"** Bumblebee yelled.

"This 'zombie' is Bulkhead." Ratchet huffed as he got up. He was pretty sure he had dislocated something in his back, thanks to the way he landed. That alone set him off in a bad mood. He knew the scout's spark was in the right place, but he may have a brain circuit loose.

"Hey Bee," the zombie or Bulkhead said with quite annoyance in his voice.

Bumblebee got off of Bulkhead as the medic and the ex wrecker turned to glare at him. **"Opps,"** the scout said sheepishly.

….

Optimus got back from patrol, and the first thing he noticed was the silence. He frowned, "Ratchet?" he called out, noting that the medic was not in the base.

He was startled to find the ground bridge opened, and to the exact coordinates the children and their guardians had gone to.

His frown deepened when he attempted to contact Ratchet, only to be met with static. Glancing back at the still open ground bridge, Optimus onlined his weapons before walking through. Ratchet would not have left the ground bridge on without a good reason. And usually, those reasons came in the forms of Decepticons.

The night was chilly, which was unusual for Nevada, and Optimus could see the small town not too far away.

Behind him, the ground bridge let out a snap, before disappearing rather suddenly.

"Must have ran out of energon," Optimus said to himself. His head shot up at the sound of gunshots in the distance. He noted that it came from the town...where the children and autobots were.

…

"Everyone's here!" Jack said with relief. He stuck close to Arcee, never intending on leaving his partner's side. Bulkhead cuddled Miko close to his chassis, keeping a wary optic on the strange shadows dancing on the remaining walls.

Everyone looked at Ratchet who was typing something on his arm with a frown.

"Ratchet, what's wrong?" Arcee asked, concerned.

"The ground bridge closed, quite unexpectedly," Ratchet said, glaring at the device, as if it was somehow all its fault.

"Well, we can still get out by driving," Miko suggested.

"No, Miko. Remember Raf said that this place is off limits which means-" Ratchet started.

"It would be blocked," Arcee finished with a groan. "Well, this complicates things!"

"But we got here before, and it wasn't blocked," Miko said.

"Through the ground bridge," Bulkhead said.

"Uh, not to be the be the bearer of bad news but I just picked up some Decepticon

signals," Ratchet said.

Everyone stilled. "How many," Bulkhead demanded.

"I don't know! Something is messing up the signal. It could be an army, or a lone scout!" Ratchet blurted out. "All my tools are acting weird!"

 **"It's the ghost!"** Bumblebee gasped.

Arcee whacked him upside the helm. "It's not the ghost Bee! Ghosh, you gotta stop watching ghost hunters!"

Bumblebee put his hands on his hips before saying some words that not even Raf could understand.

"Bumblebee, there are children around here!" Ratchet scolded.

Bumblebee's door wings went down sheepishly.

Arcee left the mech's to argue as her optics flickered over to a dark figure that emerged into the building. She quickly onlined her weapons before rushing at the dark figure with a battle cry. The figure seemed ready for her attack and flipped her over, pinning her to the wall. Bumblebee rushed forward, colliding with the intruder, but the weight of the two mechs caused the wall to break, sending them both outside.

Arcee jumped to her feet and ran outside to see Bee on his back, the larger mech pinning him down.

"NO!" Arcee screamed, her blades emerging as she launched herself at Bee's captor. She ducked the mech's arm as he tried to swipe at her.

"Arcee!" a familiar voice said. The femme stopped her attack, her optics widening. "Optimus!" she said.

"Well ,that's professional," Ratchet grumbled as he and Bulkhead, along with the children, came out of the saloon.

"Yay! Boss Bot is here! We can go home!" Miko shouted with glee.

Optimus sent a questioning look to Ratchet he shook his helm. "I'll explain later. But all you need to know right now, is that everyone here thinks that there are some spirits attacking them."

"Is that why they are all covered in white and look like ghosts?" Optimus asked.

"Uh, no. Long story, but it means we need to leave," Jack urged. "No reason to stay here!"

But what Ratchet had said caught the Prime's attention. Spirits? While everyone was transforming and getting ready to leave, Optimus approached the saloon.

The matrix inside of him immediately urged him to stop as he poked his head inside. Something was not right here. Something was wrong. Laughter and footsteps sounded above him, but it was so soft that he wondered if he had even heard it.

Optimus frowned before running a quick heat scan on the room. He blinked his optics in shock. There were many forms of negative energy forming in the room, none of them friendly. Then, as one, all the doors and windows swung open, before slamming shut.

Optimus stumbled back in horror. The doors continued to open and slam shut. It was unnerving. One thing came to mind. They were not welcome here. There was evil in this place. The autobots and children were from the land of the living; they were not welcome here.

"Optimus?" Arcee called out, approaching him. She had started getting concerned when he had not joined them, and as much as she didn't like this place, she was not leaving anyone behind. Her optics widened as she heard the doors slamming. "What..?"

"We need to get out of here," Optimus said, grabbing Arcee's arm and dragging her away from the building.

"Autobots, roll out!" he ordered. They didn't need to be told twice. Everyone sped out of there, following their Prime.

It wasn't long until they reached the roadblocks. Ratchet thought for sure that Optimus would stop. But to his surprise, their leader increased his speed and smashed through the roadblocks in his way. Even then, Optimus did not slow down. He was driving like Unicron himself was chasing him.

 **"The ghost is chaseing us!"** Bumblebee shrieked.

"The ghost is not chasing us!" Arcee yelled. But she too, increased her speed as she remembered the slamming doors.

Ratchet looked at his rear view mirror and saw that Jack's grip tightened on Arcee's handle bars. Ratchet let out a sigh, knowing he would have to give everyone a thorough checkup.

…

At Base

"Bumblebee, you're next. I will have to examine your helm," Ratchet insisted.

"Ratchet, our scout is fine," Optimus spoke up

"You can't be serious," Ratchet said, confused.

"Our scout is fine," Optimus assured him.

Ratchet walked away, muttering something. The medic observed everyone in the room. Bumblebee was scratching away at the salt and flour. Arcee and Bulkhead had yet to clean themselves from the dirt and dust. Optimus pulled out a piece of wood that had gotten stuck in his arm, no doubt from the many roadblocks he had run through. The children looked no better. Jack and Raf had white powder in their hair while Miko looked like something from the underworld.

Optimus's optics flickered over to Miko who was sitting next to Bulkhead. "Rough day Miko?" Optimus asked.

Miko let out a groan. "You have no idea. How did you know?"

Optimus flicked one of her pigtails. "Just a hunch," he said with a small smile. A small bone fell to the ground.

"What's that" Miko screamed as she touched her hair. "Bones! Oh my God! Get them out!" Bulkhead rushed over to her side trying to pick her up but the young girl was jumping around yelling. "Get it off! Get it off!" Arcee came to rush over, trying to pick out the bones with her large servos. But Miko would just not stay put.

"Jack, Raf, help!" Arcee yelled, gesturing to the girl.

"I'm not touching that," Jack stated, backing away.

"Get over here!" Arcee yelled, leaving no room for argument. The two boys reluctantly came over and started picking bones out of Miko's hair. "Eww! That's a finger!" Jack screamed, holding out a finger. Raf bolted.

 **"Raf! Get over here!"** Bumblebee yelled at the 12 year old.

"I am not touching those bones," Raf said firmly.

Optimus let out a laugh while Ratchet turned to face him. "Really," the medic said.

"You didn't expect her to go home looking like that did you, old friend," Optimus said gesturing to Miko.

Ratchet let out a huff. "You could at least help!"

"I did," Optimus said. "I simply pointed out the bones stuck in her hair."

"Am I the only one wondering what happened to those Con signals?" Bulkhead asked after getting Miko to finally calm down.

"Yeah. What did happen to them?" Raf asked.

…

Starscream transformed in his elegant grace, while Megatron transformed in his awesomeness, his armor glimmering in the moonlight.

"Why do you think the Autobots were here? Could this be their secret base?" Starscream asked his master.

"It could be," Megatron said as he approached one of the larger, ruined buildings. "And it looks like there was a battle here." He touched one of the splintered walls. "A very recent battle." He straightened up, testing the flooring of the building before entering with Starscream following. "Whatever the case, it is worth investigating," the warlord said.

Starscream stopped, thinking he had heard...something! Was that laughter? Who dared laugh at him!

Though Megatron would not admit it. There was something wrong with this building. The dark energon alerted him. He slowly entered one of the nearby rooms, leaving Starscream alone.

Starscream's spark was uneasy. Just for safety measures, Starscream powered on his weapons. "My…my liege?" he called out, only to get no response.

Starscream could have sworn he heard something. Not to mention, the feeling of being watched was unnerving. Doors started slamming. He quickly turned around before letting out a horrified shriek.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The End


End file.
